Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is a classical music superstar and beloved ambassador for the arts. And on Sunday in Athens, he called the Dawgs.
Ma’s genial, sold-out solo recital at the UGA Performing Arts Center’s Hodgson Concert Hall Feb. 1 marked the facility’s 30th anniversary — and the three-decade run of UGA Presents, the university’s professional performing arts program.
The acoustically superior Performing Arts Center hosts countless Hugh Hodgson School of Music recitals and other University events. It is also the site of roughly 35 performances each academic year by prominent international touring artists in genres from classical music and jazz to Japanese drumming and bluegrass. Ma’s program was a microcosm of the center’s activities — a premier artist journeying from J.S. Bach to music by the late American composer George Crumb.
“When the Performing Arts Center officially opened in the spring of 1996 under the leadership of UGA President Emeritus Charles Knapp and his administration,” PAC Director Jeffrey Martin said, “its bold mandate was to show that world-class performances belong not only in America’s largest cities — such as the one down the road from us — but right here in Athens, on a large public university campus for students and our entire community to enjoy. That vision continues to endure even today.”
Before the concert, in the PAC’s orchestra rehearsal room, about 100 UGA Presents donors, UGA President Jere W. Morehead, and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Benjamin C. Ayers were treated to a reception and a brief musical performance by UGACelli, an ensemble of cello students from the Hugh Hodgson School. Before that, Ma visited the group’s rehearsal and coached them on the two Brazilian pieces they were about to play.
“It felt unreal!” said Gabriella McClellan, a first-year master’s student in cello performance. “Listening to Yo-Yo Ma as a child is what inspired me to play the cello in the first place, so he has always held a special place in my heart. Meeting him was a dream come true. He literally ran into the room and proceeded to give all the cello students high-fives. He also asked for all of our names.
“After we played for him, he eagerly complimented us. He offered a short Q and A session as well. He was incredibly giving and thoughtful, with an obvious passion for music and serving other people. I will never forget the short time we spent with him.”
“I played for Yo-Yo when I was 16, half my life ago,” said Assistant Professor of Cello James Kim, a soloist with a burgeoning international career. “In my lesson with him, he tried to get me out of the music and to go beyond it, a concept which was not easy. This was accompanied by crazy mental exercises, such as asking me what I did on my birthday and to name all my favorite foods while performing Haydn’s D Major Concerto. He offered deep artistic advice afterward. I have a video of this, which I showed him on Sunday to his delight.
“To see Yo-Yo giving my students the education he gave me was a moving moment.”
An entire generation of performers has been impressed by Hodgson and Ramsey concert halls. The commemorative program for Ma’s recital included photos of and testimonials from artists who have appeared at the PAC.
“It’s not so common that you find a hall with perfect acoustics,” wrote pianist Jonathan Biss. “To find two in the same building is close to unheard of. But that’s the case with UGA’s Performing Arts Center. The sound is warm and clear. You can whisper and make the audience lean in to listen; you can fill it with sound that never grows harsh. Whenever I’ve performed there, whether in recital, concerto, or chamber music, I’ve felt totally connected to the music and to the audience, in a way that only happens in a great hall. The Performing Arts Center is a joy to play in, and a gift to the city.”
“Congratulations to the Hodgson Concert Hall community for keeping the arts and live music thriving in Athens for 30 years!” wrote ukelele player Jake Shimabukuro. “It is an absolute honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to experience music in that special hall. At Hodgson, the hall and the organization that run it are just as vital to the creative experience as the performers onstage. When everyone works together, the experience becomes exponentially magical. Let’s keep supporting the arts collaboratively for another 30 years!”
Yo-Yo Ma’s performance, which was sponsored by the Kleiner Foundation and Dr. Jane Huang and Dr. Philipp Torres, was a step in that direction. It raised funds for the PAC’s 30th anniversary campaign, which includes the Arts Impact Endowment (sustaining arts-related education and engagement programming) and the Facility Support Fund (upgrading technical systems and the physical facility).
For information about making a donation to the PAC, click here.
